Balanced attack leads Green Wave past Knights

By Michael Hughes

Published: Friday, November 1, 2013 at 11:48 PM.

HUNTERSVILLE – Lake Norman Charter came out inspired on Senior Night, but Ashbrook sophomore running back Z’Andre Givens ran for two touchdowns and had two long scoring receptions to lead his team past the Knights, 42-0, Friday. Junior quarterback Austin Mitchell added 250 yards through the air on 12-of-19 passes and three touchdowns.

The Green Wave (7-3, 4-1) scored all their points in the second and third quarters, with five of their six TDs coming from at least 47 yards.

“We were a little bit more athletic than they were on the boundary,” said Ashbrook coach Greg Hill. “We tried to get the ball out there and let our kids run.”

Run they did after a scoreless first quarter, as Givens flew down the sidelines for a 58-yard score less than a minute into the second quarter.

Barely three minutes later senior Trey Brice bounced into the end zone after a 61-yard gallop, and then Givens caught a short pass from Mitchell and scooted 62 yards for his second TD of the half.

Junior kicker Matt Cloyd booted three of his six successful point afters to give the Green Wave a 21-0 halftime advantage.

“In the first half I wasn’t very pleased,” said Hill, speaking mostly of the first quarter. “I just know we’ve got to get better.”

HUNTERSVILLE – Lake Norman Charter came out inspired on Senior Night, but Ashbrook sophomore running back Z’Andre Givens ran for two touchdowns and had two long scoring receptions to lead his team past the Knights, 42-0, Friday. Junior quarterback Austin Mitchell added 250 yards through the air on 12-of-19 passes and three touchdowns.

The Green Wave (7-3, 4-1) scored all their points in the second and third quarters, with five of their six TDs coming from at least 47 yards.

“We were a little bit more athletic than they were on the boundary,” said Ashbrook coach Greg Hill. “We tried to get the ball out there and let our kids run.”

Run they did after a scoreless first quarter, as Givens flew down the sidelines for a 58-yard score less than a minute into the second quarter.

Barely three minutes later senior Trey Brice bounced into the end zone after a 61-yard gallop, and then Givens caught a short pass from Mitchell and scooted 62 yards for his second TD of the half.

Junior kicker Matt Cloyd booted three of his six successful point afters to give the Green Wave a 21-0 halftime advantage.

“In the first half I wasn’t very pleased,” said Hill, speaking mostly of the first quarter. “I just know we’ve got to get better.”

Givens (78 yards rushing) plunged in from a yard out midway through the third and took a Mitchell screen pass another 62 yards for his fourth TD just moments later.

Brice (6 rec., 89 yards) ended the scoring for the night with a 47-yard romp with 5:15 left in the third.

“We’re young; we’re inexperienced. I’m starting a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” said Lake Norman Charter coach Bob McKay. “I was really proud of the way we did in the first half.”

Knights’ senior Jake Foran suffered a scary concussion on the last play of the game after a head-on collision while making a tackle near the Lake Norman Charter sideline. Foran was caught in the middle and went facemask to facemask with his teammates and the Ashbrook runner.

Both teams stayed on one knee while Foran lay motionless on the ground while medics tended to him before the ambulance arrived. Ashbrook senior Luke Pauley led the teams in a moment of prayer at midfield after Foran and his parents entered the ambulance.

“I think he’ll be alright,” said McKay before he drove on to the hospital. “He’s moving his arms and legs. He’s just really numb. He got sandwiched between two guys and then it was almost helmet to helmet. When he went down his head hit again.”